6/10/05
Everybody was ready to go at 9:45, so with a low rumble 16 GSs headed off to tour Kerry. I had no idea the scenery I was in for. After a quick stop for gas we headed towards some mountains down a narrow bumpy road. Once we crested the mountain the morning fog disappeared we came across an amazing view of the Ocean. It was an amazing site of 16 bike winding down the side of the mountain with ocean on the horizon. The day could have been over there and I would have been happy but fortunately it kept getting better from there.
Riding in a group this size it is pretty easy to get spread out so when ever there is a turn in the road the person riding behind the leader pulls off and waits till the last person goes buy to make sure everyone makes the turn. Well at one point I was second to the back because I kept stopping for pictures. Well there was a couple who were just as bad as myself with stopping for pictures, well we ended up missing a turn because the person who was supposed to be waiting must have driven on. As the we made our way down the wrong road stopping for pictures every know and again, oblivious to the whereabouts of the rest of the group we came to a dead end. HHHHMMMM, hey did you see a turn back there, scratch scratch scratch
I think so. So after 20 minutes of back tracking we came to the group who were all in good spirits but thought maybe we should ease up on the photos and do more riding.
At one point I was following an older fellow on a Honda Dominator, there were about 3 non-GS guys there, when he went across an old stone bridge which had an easy left turn after it. Well this fellow tried check out the peat filled ditch. It was quite a brilliant get-off when he flew over his handle bars head first into a peat filled ditch. By the time I pulled over and got off the bike he was just coming out of the ditch looking like the swamp monster and his bikes front wheel was completely buried in the peat ditch. Now you are allowed to laugh in situations like this if no one is hurt and the bike is fine as was this situation. Once a couple more people caught up we all pulled the bike out of the ditch, we were quite lucky it was a Honda not a BMW which weighs about 300 lbs more. Well the poor guy was quite embarrassed and decided to call it a day.
With another couple hours of riding down the most amazing roads I have ever ridden on we stopped for lunch a nice little café next to a beautiful lake.
I think Ireland was made for the GS, uhhmmm Josh pretty sure Ireland is a little older than your motorcycle, no I dont think so pretty sure Ireland was made for this bike.
The roads were bumpy, uneven, extremely narrow, sheep everywhere, the occasional car, and lots of blind corners and I enjoyed every second. The only other time I have had this much fun on a motorcycle is when I take the Honda to the track, today was much less of an adrenaline rush but still just as enjoyable.
At the end of the day myself and another fellow broke off from the group and tood a different route home. We came across Inch Beach and quickly noticed they allow vehicles on the beach, could the day get any better. So off we went down the beach. After about 30 minutes of playing on the beach we made our way back to the hostel.
Since I had been sightseeing when I was supposed to do my motorcycle maintenance I decided I had better take care of my girl before I grab dinner. Ingol, the owner of the hostel and fellow GS rider said it was no problem to do it there and he would even dispose of the oil for me. It was about 10:00 when I finished changing the engine oil, gear oil, spark plugs, and air filter so I took a quick shower and met up with everyone at the pub next door. It is always nice to sit and talk with people who share a mutual passion with, even complete strangers can talk like old friend. After a night of storytelling and reminiscing of the great day we just had it was off to bed with hopes that tomorrow would be as good as todays.
Todays Specs
Weather: Sunny 85F
Distance: 180 miles, Colaghne to Colaghne
